Yesterday’s Goal

One good thing about a mid-week holiday is having the opportunity to turn off the alarm clock. I slept in until 7. I almost always wake up early, but just knowing I don’t have to get right up and start packing lunches for my family is a relief. I lazed a bit, drinking coffee in bed, watching the news. It wasn’t like I had to make myself get out of the bed, though, because I look forward to running every day.

I set that goal yesterday of 6 miles in 50 minutes or less, and so dressed for a cool morning, stuck the iPod shuffle ear- buds in my ears and headed out. Did I notice anything in the forecast about wind? I don’t think so. I jogged out those wake-up kinks for the first minute or so and headed down Old Garden Road. The wind was light, but by the time I headed up Dean Road, my ponytail was whipping straight out behind me. It was cold! I had to work hard to bring up my pace. I was listening to Moby and quickly got into the zone as I turned onto South Street. The wind got into its groove, too, and by the time I reached Eden Road I was feeling like I should be on the return trip. I ran into a friend and stopped to chat for a couple of minutes. She has had some nasty medical problems, unexpected and unfair for such a dear person, (or for anyone, really), and when I asked if she had the day off, she told me she was going into the hospital today for brain surgery. I could not think of one single good thing to say. That’s just so scary to me! I offered what I had at the monment- I hugged her and told her I would be thinking of her all day.

As I continued down Eden Road, past the rocky shoreline and the Twin Lights, I could only think of her and her partner, what their day looked like, how hard it would be for both of them. It suddenly was not such a big deal to be running into the wind.

I barely noticed the waves crashing on Pebble Beach, and the long hill returning up South Street pressed against me with the weight of concern I felt for my friend. This run was a difficult one. I could not slip back into that timeless zone I have grown so addicted to. I decided to just let the rest of the run happen on its own, let my thoughts of those two women and their day stay with me and hold them in my heart.

One Comment on “Yesterday’s Goal”

I am sorry to hear of your friend’s health problem. You are so right, running in the wind is so minor compared to what her day was going to be. I hope she did well. But it sounds like you had a great start to your day with coffee in bed; I can imagine doing that, coffee, TV, doggie Ike, rainy out, relaxing, Yes, I want to do that too!!